As a business founder, you might have a lot of questions concerning your business that need addressing. Perhaps you wonder what costs you will incur this year? Or you’re trying to figure out how to make your website visible on Google?
Well, if you have even been knee-deep in digital marketing lately or have ever looked at how to improve your content for target keywords on your site, then there is a good chance that you have come across “search intent”. As search engines like Google advance from one day to another, understanding what people are searching for and their specific intent behind that search becomes more important.
What exactly is search intent?
Search intent or user intent is a user’s main goal when searching for something in a search engine. More often than not, users are looking for a specific type of content as they search.
For example, someone searching for a pizza recipe has a different intent than someone looking for a takeout pizza. Though they both revolve around the same overall topic, these users have different intentions.
Here’s another example. If someone Googles “photography”, this could mean many things:
- They may be looking for photography equipment
- They could be searching for photography lessons
- Maybe they need a professional photographer for an upcoming event
Types of Search Intent
While there are endless search terms, it’s important to get familiar with the four primary search intents.
- Informational
- Preferential /Commercial Investigation
- Transactional
- Navigational
1. Information
According to Passion Digital, searches with informational intent come from audiences that seek information. This can be in the form of a recipe, definition, or guide. Information is the most common search intent, as people are looking for answers to an endless number of questions. Obviously, not all informational terms are questions. Someone searching for simply “Elon Musk” is most likely looking for information about Elon Musk.
2. Preferential/Commercial
Before they’re ready to buy from your website, users start their commercial investigation. This is when they use search engines like Bing or Google to investigate your brand, products, or services. They no longer seek information and narrow their focus to a few different options. At this stage, users often start comparing brands and products to find the best solution for them.
3. Transactional
At this stage, users are already looking to make a purchase. This could be a subscription, service, or product. Either way, they have a good idea of what they’re looking for. Because they’re already in purchase mode, these terms are usually branded. They will no longer Google for a specific product but for a place to purchase it. It can be something like” shop Puma sneakers”.
4. Navigational
These users are looking to access a specific website, and it’s often easier to Google the name than to type out the URL. They could also be looking for a specific page, e.g., a login page or be unsure of the exact URL. So often, these searches include a website or brand name and can include additional specifications to help them find the exact page.
Optimise Your Website with Search Intent in Mind
Now that you know how important search intent is for your website ranking potential let’s get into how to take advantage of it.
1. Study High-Ranking Pages
Studying high-ranking search results on Google will give you a better understanding of the user intent behind any search term. This can help you understand what Google deemed most fitting for each instance.
For example, the top results for “stock trading “are all informational, except for some that also cover commercial intent.
This tells us that people who search for this term want to know more about it instead of taking action. If that’s the case, creating content such as how-to-guides and blog posts for beginners is your best option.
2. Check the Question Section
Perhaps you’re already familiar with the “People also ask” section. These questions are related to the search term so if you want to help your audience, do so by answering them in your blog posts, articles, or pages.
3. Content is King: Make it Right
If you’re searching for a “WordPress tutorial”, you will notice that a lot of people appear at the top of the result page. Articles and blog posts only appear below videos, and this is because users who use this keyword are interested in video tutorials, and tutorials are mostly sought after by beginners. You can use the same approach to create beginner video tutorials.
4. Find the right keywords
In order to cater to different search intents, you need to create content that meets the needs of your audience. If in doubt, don’t forget you can hire an expert SEO company London to find the right keywords for you. Doing so will help your conversions as you are able to show up in the search results at different stages of the buyer journey. Once you have all of that, it’s time to update your existing content and pages or create new ones so they meet the search intent.
Search Intent: Final Thoughts
When trying to create content for your websites and grow your business, it’s important to pay attention to what people want. And one of the best ways to do so is to match your content with their search intent. You will not only improve your Google rankings but also attract clicks, leads and sales.
Now that you know how search intent could improve your business, it is time to optimise your website content so that they fit your audience’s motivation.
